Students in rural communities who want access to college and training programs often face many educational and financial barriers. In Sandpoint, many of these barriers have been overcome as local community leaders have been working together to form exciting new educational alliances and opportunities for both local and state-wide students. Jim Zuberbuller – Co-Founder–Communiversity, Sandpoiont and Alan Millar – Director of PTECH h for Idaho and Principle of the Forest Bird Charter School, Sandpoint discuss two exciting innovative solutions.

Sandpoint Communiversity is a five year old project that has opened many new options and programs for local students with the state wide colleges and universities. The idea, which was brought to town by Connie Kimbel is now a reality. “I can’t sing Jim’s praises enough,” said Kimble. “He jumped into the Communiversity project with his whole heart and mind, with passion, humor and an expertise that kept us focused and invigorated. He’s been a first rate moderator, cheerleader, and idea man.Last summer Sandpoint hosted the first international meeting of Communiversity – including delegates from Nelson, BC and France as well as the 6 communiversities in the US.

Using the structure of the Communiversity and connections with the aerospace business across the state, the innovative thinkers created a new – state-wide program for high school students called Pathways to Technology {PTECH} This program, funded by grants is in its first year with a class of 59 high school students who are enrolled in the four year program. Upon graduation from the program students will have completed high school and two years of community college and be eligible for employment in the areospace industry.

The Communiversity now has a staff of five; they have received signifcant grant funding. This year received 400.000 to start the PTECH program. This collaborative group is currently working with 59 high school students in a pilot project called Pathways to Technology. This is a state wide model program that is looking at receiving 2.2 million dollars next year. For application information please contact Alan below.

Last summer Sandpoint hosted the first international meeting of Communiversity – including delegates from Nelson, BC and France as well as the 6 communiversities in the US.

For more information about Communiversity, email BCCommuniversity@gmail.com

In the studio with Elissabeth DeFreitas. Lissa and I have been involved with many public service groups in the North Idaho area over the past decade or two. We had just finished an interview to air at a later date on Community Hospice Services . We left the mic on while we expressed gratitude for some (not all for sure) of our awesome community assets.

Here it is.

Thanks to Beth Pederson for permission to use “I Dreamed of Rain” written by Jan Garrett. performed by Beth Pederson from the CD “Christmas in Their Eyes” Available @highmoonmusic.com or email: highmoonmusic@sandpoint.net.

Thanks to Elissabeth DeFreitas for her Harp, Keyboard and Flute music from of the upcoming album Passage, we heard the track titled New Jerusalem

Thanks also to the estate of Scott Moulton for the guitar music used for our theme song and in the background throughout this episode. Find Scott in the iTunes store here: Scott Moulton Music

And one more special thank you to the intrepid photographer Kirk Miller for his dedication to awesome sunrise photos here in North Idaho and the photo used for this post. Find and friend him here on Facebook, you won’t regret it: Kirk Miller

Yours Truly, Ken Casler composed and played the song Attitude of Gratitude

Last but not least a heartfelt THANK YOU for — YOU, our listeners and supporters. It is all about you, and our desire to bring the content you are looking for in alternative media to your attention.

Daniel Bruce and Margaret Ruhl

Urban Permaculture Pioneers

A youthful vivacious look at hope for our cities. Urban Farming is not a “dream” for these people. They have been working with the city of Spokane Wa. and it’s residents to turn lawns into organic gardens. The success is overwhelming, and this is one area where I say say “Yay!! to the word “overwhelm”. Bringing permaculture to the city is their passion and they are on the way to creating a model for the future.

Vivacious according to Merriam Webster : “happy and lively in a way that is attractive.” This most certainly describes this couple from Spokane, Washington. Our interview took place at the 2014 Inland Northwest Permaculture Convergence at the Heartsong Retreat Center. (BTW this is a “must attend” event for any Cascadians living east of the Cascades in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.) (Link below to find out more.)

Daniel (also known as Elf) has been a Northwest resident his whole life, indigenous to the Northwest is his prefered terminology. Margaret is a Seattle native and she has travelled to Costa Rica and participated in hands on permaculture practices there and other places. In the interviewing process they complimented each other as they do in their life practice.

This is not about leaving the city and “getting back to the Earth” their mission is bringing our connection to the Earth back to the city. (The connection really was never “lost” it has just been forgotten.)

Local architect and ex-president of the Eco Building Guild, Bruce Millard, discusses the evolution of sustainable design in his practice and the throughout the region.

Moving to Sandpoint from the urban Philadelphia over thirty years ago, Bruce had the opportunity to re-invent himself professionally Designing in an open rural environment presented many different design challenges and possibilities and he started exploring new materials – e.g., straw bale. He also realized that he was re-inventing himself and his focus and become healthy sustainable living design.

“Architecture is all about people and I realized that my focus had shifted from what I knew . I had much more to learn so I started reaching out to others in the region to explore new ideas.”

In connecting with others he became part of the Eco Building world and sustainable design became the focus. Bruce was president of the Ecobuilding Guild and started bringing builders, designers, realtors to Sandpoint for seminars and projects. The NW Guild is now one of the national innovators in sustainable design.

His most recent project was the renovation of an old Catholic Church into the award winning Hartwood Community Center in downtown Sandpoint.

I spent 20 years in video and film writing, producing and directing; advertising, and creative direction. I’ve produced AIDS educational videos and tough messages around those living with the disease, and I’ve led Change Management for employees of large corporations going through difficult transitions. I raised three sons, two with autism. And I have written and performed songs all along.

These life situations have helped me develop emotional sensitivity and observation, and a willingness to expose my inner truths and vulnerabilities. I put this to use in helping people realize their creative potential through song writing.

I have a talent for relating to people in ways that help them feel safe, while helping them to rediscover their own brilliance and creativity. For some, that process is directed specifically toward the creation of songs. For others the song writing exercises result in a process and an experience that is transferable to a host other areas of their lives and careers.

I love doing this and seeing the difference I am helping people make for themselves. It is an experience that will change your idea about your creative abilities. You will move from fear to fascination. You will remember you can do anything.

With someone to constantly remind you that anything is possible, you’ll let go of what is keeping you from creating everything you want to create.

In this breakthrough style workshop, you’ll imagine your possibilities, and then discover how to consistently say yes to them.

Reengage your Creativity through Songwriting will help you:

· Rev up your enthusiasm for doing what you want to do

· Kick-start and engage creative thinking about anything

· Get rid of your “inner gremlins” and build your self-confidence

· Have some fun as you create something

· See that you are like other people in having fears and doubts that hold you back

· Meet new people, and get a rush of energy from seeing them grow and go

· Help you creatively engage and solve any challenge

During the 5 days of the workshop:

· You will think of, work on, and complete a song. If this is your first attempt, you’ll have a song and it will be better than you expected. If it’s the next song in your series, you’ll do it better than ever before, and have more fun doing it.

· You’ll get past thinking you can’t and remember that you can! Explore the most common blocks that keep people from doing what they want to do, then work through them.

· You will unwind your creative tangles with a variety of tools and challenging mental exercises, designed to help you open up and get going. Some of the exercises are deep and soul seeking and others fun and playful. You’ll get to decide which is which for you.

· You will do exercises that get rid of the inner editor and critic that stymies possibilities before they get off the ground. Great ideas are often rejected during self-talk, and your wonderful creations are never born. You’re going to learn some new ways to stop that negative inner voice.

· You will look at some songwriting tips and tools to help polish your thoughts and lyrics, and write intuitive melodies.

Lyric writing is a powerful tool for reengaging with your truest self. In the workshop you’ll take a deep emotional dive to turn feelings and thoughts into lyrics. As you do this, you’ll gain insights about your beliefs, fears, past pain, dreams, passions, and intuition. Writing in this way, you rediscover the truth about who you are, and your most positive qualities shine through. You will be more inspired every day and led by intuition. When you dig deep and see your truth, your life is positively transformed.

Playing a musical instrument is not required, but if you have one bring it. Dress casually; we will do some dancing and moving.

WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

Thank you, Dawnya for your guidance, inspiration and encouragement. You are going to be the midwife to the birth of many great songs. Heather McElwain

Through this workshop I unkinked my creativity and let it all go. Sally Dennison

Every community that embraces Dawnya will benefit greatly from a creative blossoming of compassionate connections. Richard Koob

Dawnya created a safe, fun, vibrant space which kept me wanting to come back for more. I never expected to write a song that I’m so proud of. Kay Furse

Your song writing class was the most amazing and infectious class that I have ever taken. Not only did you teach us that all people can and should express themselves freely, but that it’s ok to think and sometimes act like a little kid. Dawnya you are a spectacular, nice, smart, and determined person and song writer. Julia Buchanan (Forrest Bird Charter School student)

Dawnya created opportunities for us to see how creative we are, and then offered us tools to craft these newly revealed self-expressions into something honest and professional. Jenn Brooks

This workshop is for anyone who has been putting off doing something they truly want to do. Tim Martin

As a performing songwriter, Dawnya brought chutzpa and her own touching story which was an infectious agent of transformation for the rest of us. I felt open and safe. I loved watching others in the class break out of their self-imposed walls. I would recommend this workshop to anyone who has felt that their inner artist was squelched over the years. Mora Judd

When I first walked into your Songwriting Workshop, there was an air of joy and creativity which let loose in bursts of laughter and self-expression. I enjoyed how you simplified our song writing process while maintaining creative freedom. Bryan Nova Brey

We are reviewing and commenting on a National Geographic special which is called “Beyond the Movie, The Lord of the Rings.

You may be steeped in the lore of this epic novel by JRR Tolkien or not. It matters not because today we bring to light some analogies and similarities through the ages, along with some lessons to be learned from history.

It was brought to the screen by Peter Jackson in a 6+ hour trilogy. Today I am going to be reviewing and exploring some real world parallels that this 57 minute National Geographic documentary.

I should start with Peter Jackson who produced the movie trilogy. You’re probably wondering what this has to do with “Thinking Outside of the Box”, well, in our world at T double Oh! TB we know that if you hold the vision like Peter Jackson did, and hold the intent it will manifest. This is a stellar example of the adage “Thought becomes Form”!

This week we have a lot of people to thank on our show credits today. As I said in the intro I am reviewing a National Geographic special called “Beyond the Movie– Lord of the Rings”:

It was Narrated by Phill Crowley with Peter McHugh and Oliver Muirhead. We never heard Peter Jackson’s voice but he deserves a huge shout out for following his passion and putting it into making an epic novel into an epic movie,

Among others you heard the voice of Ian McKellen as Gandolf, and discussing Benjamin Franklin was Prof. Michael Zuckerman of the University of Pennsylvania. You also heard Prof. Michael Droat who is a Tolkien an expert.

I want to express my gratitude to Peter Lucht for composing and playing our theme music, and this week Dino Dogen for contributing the upbeat intro music especially for this show. Let us know if you like it!. Cheri Calvert of Cheri Calvert.com is there in the background performing her web design magic, and a big shout out to radio station KRFY Panhandle Community Radio for moral and technical support.

Kirk Miller is a man with a mission. For more than three years he’s been on a daily quest to find a picture that is inspiring and sharing his words of wisdom. His community of followers is growing every day. He has rules, or parameters, which he always follows. The pictures are always taken from a public place where any of us could get to, the pictures are rarely if ever modified in Photoshop, (although he does tweak the settings in his camera.) They feature the natural beauty of the lake and surrounding shores, and rarely show any signs of us humans. I guess the boats, docks, and an occasion bridge is the exception there.

Kirk has a large base of followers in the Facebook realm and it’s become an important part of his life to bring new look at life and unique perspective of our beautiful lake each day to those followers.

Sunrises are his Speciality and his Dedication is Extreme

Kirk’s been doing this daily ritual without fail for more than three years. Here’s a link to an article written about Kirk after only one year and he has become a living legend here in Sandpoint. This article appeared in the River Journal, and the author is Trish Gannon: In Search of the Sunrise.

Below you will find some of the comments from his Facebook followers, and the ones highlighted in green art Kirk’s own comments regarding the photo of the day.

For more information, or for options you might have regarding the use of Kirt’s awesome photos search for Kirk Miller, Sandpoint in Facebook. Or try this link: https://www.facebook.com/kirk.miller.754

It’s so nice to see the seasons through your eyes. It was another boring 82 degree day today in So. Ca. (Laura Jones)

I would hate to lose your daily pictures, I Look forward to them ,and the wisdom and kind words that go with each, come on people he is doing US a favor by posting these . DONT ruin it for everyone just because you can.

12-2-13 7:18AM ~ I was thrilled to see wonderful fluffy clouds at midnight, by 3:00 many more were hovering over our little lake. By 5:30 I was heading for Sunnyside where the last hole in the clouds was visible over Clark Fork. By 6:30 it had closed up so I headed back to Ponder still hoping for some color. When the sun finally broke through the effect was interesting to say the least. Have a great day friends…

12-1-13 7:09AM ~ The temperature dropped seven degrees from the time I left the house until I took this shot an hour and a half later. The good part of that was the rain turned to a snowy slush which at least gave me some color to work with. Be careful out there my friends because apparently winter driving skills aren’t part of the drivers test in North Idaho…Have a great day…

11-29-13 6:39AM ~ I drove around the northern end of the pond and finally decided to climb the mountain to get above the oppressive overcast. This is the scene that greeted me and I knew it was going to be a good day…I loved the crescent moon but soon forgot all about it

11-28-13 7:32AM ~ Some days it’s worth waiting a while for the sun to rise through the wall of fog surrounding our little town. I hope all of my friends and family have a Happy Thanksgiving and/or a Happy Hanukkah. Thanksgivukkah anyone? Keep smiling today, you’ll find the day is much better that way.

It is not unusual for Kirk to get 50 or more comments on one of his photos. Below a smattering of comments for the Dec 2nd 2013 posting:

Audra Gabica OK seriously… this may well be my all time favorite! I mean I’d have to compile them all side by side and survey… But seriously, this one is absolutely incredible! I LOVE IT! Wholly completely amazing stuff right there Mr. Miller! Bravo!!!

Ken Casler is your podcast host and inspiration behind Thinking Outside of the Box. Thinking Outside of the Box is a clearinghouse for ideas (new and old) whose time has come. We are a community of people willing to try new solutions to old problems. Or, maybe it’s an “‘old” solution that works for a new problem?

Thinking Outside of the Box is a discovery zone for your growth. We strive to stay on the edge, stretching the limits of our minds always open to new solutions. It is “Theater of the Mind” with every show focused on Exploring. If you can open your mind you can open the curtain to new realities and we invite you to come on in and play. We are a community of folks taking the next step towards unity and sustainability.

As Rod Serling would say: “You’re travelling to another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination.”